Sugar Scrub Bars

These sugar scrub bars combine coconut oil and sugar to leave your hands soft and moisturized!

Sugar scrubs have been one of my favorite beauty items to make at home. The base of oil + sugar leaves you with tons of possibilities. This year, I thought it might be fun to create basically a little soap with the moisturizing and exfoliating properties of sugar scrub, which is how we ended up with these cute little sugar scrub bars.

The formula is simple — keep the base of oil + sugar, and add a little soap both to hold things together, and to add a cleaning aspect to the mix. These little bars have a grainy look to them once they’ve dried. It’s a gentle exfoliation that opens the way for the coconut oil to really get in and hydrate those hands.

Very Important Note: Sugar scrub bars call for Ivory soap. I have tried this with two other types of bar soap, and it did NOT work. Other soaps do not puff up like Ivory, and therefore do not create the right consistency. With the two other types (Dove and Irish Spring), the bars didn’t harden, leaving me with sugar scrub goo.

Sugar Scrub Bars, Step-by-Step

Materials

1 bar Ivory soap (do NOT use a different brand. It will not work.)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil
Optional: non-staining food coloring (this brand works great)
Optional: essential oils to scent

Instructions

Start by grating 1/2 of the Ivory soap bar (again, definitely use Ivory!). You can set aside the other half of the bar for another project or to use somewhere else (this oatmeal soap on a rope is one idea!).

Combine the grated soap with the coconut oil and microwave for 30 seconds. The soap will puff up — my kids absolutely loved this part — but it will deflate when you take it out and stir it. The soap and coconut oil should be melted, but if you need to, you can keep microwaving it in 10 second bursts until they’re melted.

Remove soap/coconut oil mixture from the microwave and add the sugar. Stir well to combine. If you want to use the mixture just as it is, you can set it aside to cool. If you want to add scent and color, now’s the time. Be care about adding too much of either as it will change the consistency of the mixture. If it gets too watery, you can add a little more sugar to balance it back out.

Then, once the mixture has cooled enough to feel comfortable to the touch, you can pat it out on a piece of wax paper. You want it to be at least 1/4 in thick. Then, use a cookie cutter to cut out individual bars. You could also just cut it with a knife to make squares.

The last step is to let the bars dry. They will need about 24 hours to be fully dry. They will still feel a bit slippery to the touch due to the coconut oil, but you should be able to pick them up no problem. For packaging as a gift, look for a hard-sided package as they are somewhat fragile.

To use, simply rub the bar on back and forth on your hands under warm running water. The soap will clean your hands while the sugar exfoliates and the coconut oil hydrates!